Leafs Claim Gerber, Reitz

Burke picks up defenseman Eric Reitz, who, in addition to being a formidable glove dropper, has been offensively productive at the AHL level (34 points in 48 games with the Aeros last season). At the NHL level, Reitz has been more of a seventh man who can add some toughness to the blue-line in the event of injury.

As the Leafs consider shutting down Vesa Toskala for the balance of the season, Martin Gerber should add some insurance until the end of the season, at which point Gerber’s contract expires. There was a time when Gerber was a premium puck-stopper. It’s easy to forget after Ward’s playoff heroics that Gerber was the one who got the Canes into the playoff position in the first place. That said, his career’s gone down the shitter since. Nonetheless, it’s a very low-risk move and speaks to Burke’s unwillingness to quit on the season under any circumstances for the fans’ sake.

Alec Brownscombe is the founder of MapleLeafsHotStove.com, where he has written daily about the Leafs since September of 2008. He was also the editor of the 2009-13 Maple Leafs Annual magazines. You can contact him at [email protected]